Having played bit roles in Nintendo games since the original Super Mario Bros., Toad finally gets an opportunity to shine in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Using the Toad mini games from Super Mario 3D World as a base, Nintendo expands on that experience with dozens of new levels on a disc that’s less than full price. Is Toad’s debut a real step towards stardom?
Wii U
Have I told you lately that Advance Wars is awesome?
Just beat Advance Wars again. This time on the Wii U Virtual Console. Holy cow that game is good. Even after all of these years, it still holds up as a brilliant turn-based strategy game. Hopefully its inclusion on the Wii U means that more people will get to continue to enjoy this underrated Nintendo classic!
For more on why Advance Wars is so great, check out this piece I wrote from a while back!
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Amiibo Double Heartbreak
Two rare Amiibos. Two online orders from two separate retailers. Within the span of a week, all I could do was watch in dismay as both would cancel my orders for Captain Falcon and Villager. Neither retailer could secure enough to meet the demand for either, so they just cancelled my orders and refunded me the money.
I’m really bummed out that I got this far into the purchase process and it didn’t work out, but at least I got my money back. In particular, I really had my hopes up that the Villager from B+H Camera would go through. Oh well, maybe someday I’ll eventually have both in my collection. For now though, I’ll keep hunting!
Jett Plays Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker
Toad finally got his own game and it’s great! I play through a few levels from the first part of the game while talking about some of the latest Nintendo news from the January 2015 Nintendo Direct event.
Jett Plays Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
I take my Zelda online in hopes of kicking some butt. To the surprise of no one, that didn’t happen much in this video.
Amiibo Story: Fox
Thinking about Fox McCloud of the Star Fox series takes me back to Toys R Us in 1993. At the time, my local Toys R Us had Star Fox in its Super Nintendo demo machine, and I made a point to play it every chance I got. I never got farther than the first level, but by the end of its run as the default demo game, I could practically ace that first level with my eyes closed. In retrospect, that Star Fox demo ended up meaning a lot more than a few runs of that first level. When I really think about it, that game was one of the major tipping points in me becoming the gamer that I am today.
The Amiibo Collecting Struggle is Real
Collecting is a choice, not a right. When people get upset about the challenges that come with collecting Amiibos – myself included – it’s important to remember that. However, I do find the act of trying to buy Amiibos in this current marketplace to be particularly difficult and somewhat unreasonable.
Pick-Up Post: Boxing Day 2015 Edition
Black Friday is quickly gaining popularity as a premier day for shopping in Canada, though Boxing Day is still the king. Though I have a tendency of making it rain on this day, my shopping list was surprisingly small this year. Maybe I didn’t get the volume of year’s past, but I think I got a solid crop of goodies at more reasonable prices!
An Amiibo Story: Princess Zelda
Skylanders and Disney Infinity toys are alright, but they certainly don’t pull at my heart strings quite like Nintendo’s Amiibo line of figurines. Based on their legendary roster of characters – and a few friends from outside of the family – these figurines are symbolic of my love of not only Nintendo, but video games as a whole. Most of these characters ushered me into the medium as a young child and have continued to provide me with joy ever since.
Having just bought my first Amiibo, I thought it’d be cool to write about the process of collecting these figures and what each one means to me. Let’s start this off with the first Amiibo in my collection, who just so happens to be the first lady of Hyrule.
Fire Emblem is Out Now on the Wii U Virtual Console
Fire Emblem first appeared on the Gameboy Advance. It was the first in the series released outside of Japan. Back when this came out in 2003, I was already a fan Nintendo’s turn-based strategy games thanks to Advance Wars. However, I was not ready for how unique Fire Emblem was compared to its sister strategy game, nor was I ready for how freaking awesome it would be.
What separates the two besides the obvious thematic differences is that Fire Emblem is much more of a role-playing game. Instead of managing an army of disposable units, each of the characters in your party has a name and story arc. You equip them with weapons and other gear. Best (or worst) of all, if they die in the game, they die forever. The strategic joy from Advance Wars is certainly here, though it’s only amplified by how high the stakes are when you’re managing a team of characters you care about that could die if you screw up.
Intelligent Systems and Nintendo have improved on the formula over time, though this first international release is still a masterpiece that is as fun to play now as it was in 2003. For die-hard fans of the series like me, owning this new version on the Wii U Virtual Console gives me a way to play the game again on a modern platform. If you haven’t played any in the series yet, this is a relatively affordable entry-point, since the game is under $10 on the eShop. If you’re ever going to give the series an honest try, this is a great place to start!
In Third Person 
